Man accused of attacking wife with pickaxe taken into custody in La Jolla

A man suspected of attacking his wife with a pickaxe and then holing up in a La Jolla home was taken into custody Thursday when he emerged from the residence after apparently setting a fire inside, San Diego police said.

The woman reported the attack at the home on Ellentown Road near Horizon Way about 10:40 a.m., police said. She originally said her husband had hit her with a hatchet, but officers later reported the weapon was a pickaxe.

Officers arrived and located the woman, who managed to get out of the house on her own, police said. It’s unclear if she was injured. She declined medical treatment.

Police tried to persuade the man to come outside, but he refused. At one point, a family psychologist and the man’s father were at the residence.

At some point, the man apparently started a fire inside the house and emerged a short time later. When he opened a door, smoke billowed out of the home, police said.

He was taken into custody without incident. It’s unclear what charges he will face.